


500 Words a Day Challenge: Doctor Who

by Iantheforlornwriter



Series: 500 Words a Day [1]
Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: 500 Words Challenge, Cancer, Death, F/M, Gallifrey, Gen, Grief, Handcuffs, Implosion, Introspection, Life in the TARDIS, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Mentions of Cancer, Multi, POV First Person, Passion, Post-Season/Series 01, Post-Season/Series 03, Post-Season/Series 09, Replica - Freeform, Satellite 5, Science Fiction, Series 1, Slavery, Socially awkward, TARDIS Rooms, The Doctor - Freeform, Writer's Block, Year 200100, alien - Freeform, class, doctor who - Freeform, egg sandwiches, husbands of river song, mirror, reassurance, red dwarf planet, reset, retrospection, slave - Freeform, wife - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-10
Updated: 2020-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:02:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23096782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iantheforlornwriter/pseuds/Iantheforlornwriter
Summary: A 500 words a day challenge to get back into writing. All concerning Doctor Who. Will comprise of 31 shorts all set in the Doctor Who Universe. Tags and Relationships will be updated the more I write.1st story:War Doctor before death of Gallifrey.2nd Story: Jack Harkness alone on Satellite 5.3rd Story:Donna after declining travelling with The Doctor.4th Story: The 13th Doctor and Graham share a heart to heart.5th Story: The 10th Doctor after all his companions left him.6th Story: The Doctor calls River Song for assistance at Coal Hill High. Not is all it seems. Part 1.7th Story: The 11th Doctor, Amy and Rory are on their way for a picnic by the Nile River but stop by a Red Dwarf Planet to witness its impending death.8th Story: Amy is transported back in time by Weeping Angels to look for her husband. FPS POV.
Relationships: Amy Pond & Rory Williams, Amy Pond/Rory Williams, Andra'ath | Andrea Quill & River Song, Andra'ath | Andrea Quill & The Doctor, Donna Noble & Original Female Character(s), Eleventh Doctor & Amy Pond, Eleventh Doctor & Amy Pond & Rory Williams, Eleventh Doctor & Rory Williams, Graham & River Song, Graham O'Brien & Ryan Sinclair, Jack Harkness & Rose Tyler, Ninth Doctor & Jack Harkness, Ninth Doctor & Jack Harkness & Rose Tyler, Ninth Doctor & Rose Tyler, Ryan Sinclair & River Song, Tenth Doctor & Donna Noble, Thirteenth Doctor & Graham O'Brien, Thirteenth Doctor & River Song, Thirteenth Doctor & Ryan Sinclair, Thirteenth Doctor & Yasmin Khan & Graham O'Brien & Ryan Sinclair, Wilfred Mott & Donna Noble, Yasmin Khan & River Song, Yasmin Khan & Ryan Sinclair
Series: 500 Words a Day [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1660021
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	1. In The Eye of The Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the final moments of Gallifrey, The War Doctor introspectively looks back at his life and his companions as he struggles with the decision to end his planet for the sake of the greater good.

The Doctor closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He felt the air fill his lungs; the oxygen like a narcotic. It was addicting. It was refreshing. It was the last breath he would take on Gallifrey; the last breath on his home planet.

He knew the responsibility of stopping the Daleks from continuing their unstoppable wrath lay solely on him. The Doctor could feel himself buckling under the weight of the decision. It weighed heavily on his mind, his body and his very soul. Every single fibre of his being screamed out in agony over the ramifications of this one, singular choice. A choice so sinister and so very opposite of his personal values and moral code of conduct. However, he was also known for his candour. This situation called for a desperate man in dire need. The Doctor fit such a description.

The soon-to-be lone Time Lord reminisced of his childhood spent in the Academy. His childhood friends, even his relationship with The Master. There were joyful memories but painful ones threatened to surface if he dug further down the perpetual well  
of self loathing he was currently allowing himself to wallow in. “One more.” He told himself. “Just this one last time.” Soon, all his mistakes, his people’s dreams and hopes; their laughter and their sadness; their inspiration and their love would all be embodies within him alone. He did not think he could bear such a responsibility.

He had to as The Doctor was a traveler. He knew what lay beyond the far reaches of Gallifrey into the big unknown. The vast empty space where all mankind wished to voyage unto. He knew there was life and love and people who all did not know it but indeed depended on him and this one small decision. If he did not make it for his people, then he had to for them. 

A few of these people came to mind. The ones he failed like Charlie, Sarah Jane Smith, and Adrid. The ones who were on Earth, living their life in full without him like Jo Grant. The ones on this planet right now like Leela and Romania. He had to do it for them. Even if it meant their lives. The Doctor told himself that this is what they would want him to do. Would not they? 

He pictured the unimaginable. He would come up with a quick plan, a smart plan like he always does. Like he always did. It would save them all and he would be the smartest in the room yet again. The fantasy started to shape in his head. 

A heavy sigh escaped his lips as a loud explosion rattled the inside of his Tardis. The Doctor quickly made his way to the main console and inspected the screen. A Dalek platoon. No more than 100 new troops, making their way to the capital of Gallifrey. It was now or never. It was time to destroy The Daleks and The Time Lords. It was time to destroy what was left of his people. This time The Doctor would not be saving lives. He would be taking them.


	2. Alone on Satellite 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack Harkness finds himself waking up from his first apparent death on Satellite 5 to the sounds of the Tardis leaving him. As he spend days on the desolate station alone, he questions how he could be left alone. And how he is alive.

At first there was silence. Then, pitch black darkness, engulfing the conman all at once. Jack Harkness expected death to linger. He expected more to his death as being a conman was a dangerous occupation. He had seen good man die; past lovers die; he had outlived the old in his village and the young who died from sickness. For all the glorification of death, Jack Harkness expected it to greet him like a tormentor; torturing his troubled soul with an icy breath, tickling the hair on the back of his neck.

Instead, he was cradled by it. Death arrived so quickly, so suddenly, that there was no time to fear it. Life did not flash before his eyes as he accepted his fate. No, it was the searing image of The Daleks as they made their through him. The ear splitting, thunderous zap of The Doctor’s greatest enemies’ gunsticks. Then there was nothing. So, it was to the dashing companion’s surprise that he awakened harm free and not at all worse for wear. 

His senses slowly came back to him. First, his vision. Jack’s eyes painfully glanced at the rifle laying next to him. The searing pain on his retinas prevented him from opening his eyelids any further than he was already forcing them. Then, his sense of touch. He felt the cool, icy metal flooring of the station. That was when the memory of what lead to his untimely death came flooding back to him. Satellite Five. The Daleks. Death. 

“Didn’t I die?” He wondered to himself. Quickly, Jack patted the front of his chest down to his abdomen, trying to feel a bump of any kind. He swore he was hit by a laser. As he contemplated removing his black sleeveless vest to inspect his body further, the familiar roar of the Tardis sounded throughout the station, bouncing off the metallic walls, echoing in the chamber Jack was in. In one fluid movement, Jack ran the entirety of the chamber, making his way past lifeless corpses and broken shells of former Daleks. He felt his lungs working again as each stride pumped more blood in his veins. The beating of his heart gave him comfort. He wasn’t dead. He couldn’t be dead. He felt just as alive as he was when he climbed the ropes in the academy at the Time Agency. As he reached the main chamber, Jack made it just in time to see the big blue box dematerialise. Gradually, The Tardis turned translucent; a split second later, transparent. The moment felt like an eternity as the Tardis disappeared entirely from sight. The Doctor had left him. Both the Time Lord and Rose. 

He was alone again. There was no Mr. Sexy in World War II era Britain to make the lonely nights more bearable. He was alone. Alone with his thoughts; alone with his sins. There was nothing else for him. There was no way off the Station.

Jack investigated the main console room. The odd arrangement of wiring that housed the Dalek’s biological databank was gone. The wires of various colours frizzed one ends. The grill panel that The Doctor, Jack and Rose had removed to access the main systems were still laying there, undisturbed. Consoles of lifeless machines sat idly by as he took in his situation. Jack Harkness was stranded on Satellite 5. He’d much prefer a deserted island than a desert killer game station. 

* * *

Seconds turned into hours as hours turned into days. For each passing moment, the ex-time agent felt a piece of him decay like his sense of time. There was no reason to keep count of the days any longer. Each day started the same. 

It was a novelty at first. He had envisioned some quiet solitary confinement in this metallic prison to be a chance of introspection. However, the more he tried to find reason -and a good reason at that, in being stuck in this precarious position, the more he found he could not any longer. The only reason he stayed to fight was for The Doctor and Rose. The Time Lord and his companion had become surrogate family members for him. He had painful memories of his time in the Boeshane Peninsula. His brother and him fought endlessly. His parents were nowhere to be seen. 

_Hiss_. There it was, right on cue. The same static that crackled at exactly the same time everyday. At first, Jack had hoped it was a radio transmission from the grey, ravaged Earth down below. The third planet from the sun looked rather ominous from way up in the sprawling structure of the station. A desolate planet and poor image of the once great human empire. 

_HISS_. Here it was, louder again. Jack squinted his eyes, his eyebrows furrowing in the process. He had given up hope on trying to contact anyone. He was also sceptical that there was anyone else still alive on Earth with the necessary means to transport themselves to the station and care for a man so broken and so devoid of energy to help himself to their ship. Then, the crackling of the radio cleared to reveal the voice of what seemed to be a disgruntled old man. The sway of his voice was like honey to his ears. Although hoarse, rough and deep, Jack was relived to hear someone out there trying to contact the station. 

The conman rushed to the communication console with whatever energy he could muster. Weakly, his right hand pressed down on the main intercom button. A blinking light erupted from the LEDs attached to it and soon the screen pulsates with a dim, static glow. There was an image of a raggedly looking old man with a white beard and brown leather coat. His eyes seemed tired. His whole demeanour screamed tired. This was the image of a man who had nothing left. Perhaps he needed this just as much as a Jack needed to get off this infernal station.

“Hello!” Jack said as loudly as he could. “This is Jack Harkness speaking from Satellite 5. Do you have a lock on my coordinates.” 

The voice spoke back. “Jack, this is Jared-“ the rest was cut off by the hissing of static before finishing. “We are trying to lock onto your-“, it continued before interference consumed the rest of the soft voice.

“I repeat, this is a Jack Harkness on Satellite 5-”, his voice cracked. Jack swallowed the last of his saliva clinging for dear life on the surface of his throat to smoothen out the dry, cracking of his voice. “I need assistance off this station.”

This time the voice replied clearly. “I have enough food and supply for two men. I’m on my way, Jack Harkness. You’re a hero.” Jared replied.

A hero? How could he be a hero. Jack had died, at least, he think he did. The Doctor and Rose did most of the work. Of course, he was never one to deny credit if credit was issued his way. 

“Maybe save me before flattering me, huh?” He joked. 

Jack caught himself. He joked. When was the last time he found himself joking? He couldn’t wait to get off this station.

* * *

Jared arrived in a modest shuttle. It was coated with a thick layer of mud, soil, dirt and all sorts of other impurities. A ravaged Earth was probably not the best place to keep a pearl white shuttle but then again, Jack didn’t believe this belonged to the old man. It must’ve been stolen.

Feebly, Jack made his way from one end of the docking station to the other. He tried his best to mask the frail state of his mind and body. Jared didn’t seem to care. Or maybe he didn’t notice. The doors slid open upwards, like the Delorean from that movie Rose made him and The Doctor watch in the Tardis. The memory of the three of them sitting together in one of the many spare bedrooms in the time machine to watch an old 20th century Earth movie pained him as he fell face forward into the shuttle. 

“Hey, you alright?” Jared got on his knees, inspecting Jack’s pulse. “Jack, hang on!” He panicked. The old man thought saying his name would wake him.

It did not.

As the engines powered on, and Jared jumped back into the peeling leather seats of his shuttle, The Ravaged Earth seemed to get closer and closer into view.

Jack fell asleep, dreaming of his time with his two closest friends. His family. How could they just leave him?


	3. The Shackled Stranger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donna Noble must have been mad to decline The Doctor’s offer to travel with him. As she dwells on the mundane life of office work, she meets Phik, a blue alien who she starts to befriend.

Donna Noble regretted the decision she made so hastily. Filing another stack of papers to the bottom drawer of the metal cabinet, the red-head let out a defeated sigh as she got up lazily. The sudden squeal of her overzealous colleague startled her, making her stumble forward. 

"Hey, Donna." A big-toothed, wide-eyed blonde had asked. Linda Jones was a rather short and skittish woman. Her hair was unkempt and the mismatched nail polish that adorned her nails spoke much about the level of finesse she usually gave herself. However, she took a rather big liking to Donna. "Are you free this weekend?" She had continued.

"I don't think I can, no. I've got this thing with me grandad. Y'know how he is." Linda Jones did not know how Wilfred was. The old man would have been delighted to have any visitor. She wasn't going to let that cat out of the bag though. He's been her best excuse.

"Oh you can't let him control you. You know I told my mother-" Donna rolled her eyes subtly enough that Linda wouldn't notice. She'd heard this story a hundred times before. Besides, someone as self absorbed as Linda probably wouldn't have noticed even if hit her in the face. "Oh please, hit her in the face." 

"What?" Linda stopped talking halfway. The red-head quickly covered her tracks. She hadn't noticed she had said it aloud as she often did.

"Oh nothing, I agree. Please," Donna would hate herself for the next few words that would escape her lips. "continue." Her eyes cringed as she said it, wrinkles forming on her forehead.

"Right, so-"

Donna let her mind wander. It took her where it usually went on days like these when Linda rambled away again about how she confronted her mother for not allowing her daughter -of all people, to stay in their basement. It took her back to her brief time on the Tardis. To the odd alien man with two hearts and black reading glasses. To The Doctor. 

She should have accepted his offer to travel with him through space and time. Anything would have been better than being stuck at a dead end job. An insurance officer was not what she had envisioned herself getting into after the engagement was broken. No, she expected better and bigger things for herself but here she was. A lowly worker in a dilapidated office building. 

* * *

Was it a cry for help? Donna questioned the choices that led her back to this line of work. Did the red-head need to so desperately cling onto the mundane that the mere prospect of travelling through space and time was too much for her to fathom? She cussed under her breath as she realised more and more that she made the wrong decision. 

Parking in the crowded lot near her office, Donna, with a stack of papers in hand, shuffled out off the car and onto the wet, damp street. It had rained the night before, and the road was drenched. 

She didn't walk very far until something caught her attention. A rather long pole sticking out of the corner to the alleyway right next to her office. She knew not to head in there, she had made a mistake following the directions she got from Linda on her first day and it lead her straight to a dead end with a foul stench that emanated from the walls. She was told it came from the sewers. 

It wasn't a pole. As she squatted down, balancing the stack of papers on her knees as she sieved through the flyers, pamphlets, expired coupons and used tissues, she found that it moved when she touched it. A faint whimper could be heard.

“Oi, I have-“ Donna looked at her stack of papers. “I have something -things sharp and I’m not afraid to use it!” 

The feminine figure, balled up in a foetal position on the ground, was unlike anything Donna had seen before. She certainly wasn't human and she looked nothing alike the Racnoss she and The Doctor faced last Christmas. 

The figure was blue in colour and had what looked like talons for fingernails. She had the usual suspects for limbs; two hands, two legs, feet and toes, but where her forehead begun, two moderately sized horns rest right above it. Donna knew what she was. She was an alien. And she looked to be hurting in someway. 

"It's alright," Donna said, now softer in tone as she attempted to touch her. The alien simply recoiled, harmlessly batting at her hands. "I won't hurt you." 

"Hungry." The alien replied, quietly. It was like a whisper that burrowed its way into your head. Her voice reverberated in her skull, bouncing on and off till it went off like an echo. It was the most beautiful thing Donna had ever heard, and she had listened to John, the office cutie, sing before. 

"You're hungry?" Donna paused. Should she really offer to help her? The last alien she faced was monstrous. Her good nature triumphed over her preconceived judgment of the poor alien. "I've got food in my car."

"Please." 

* * *

The alien had scoffed down the last of the fruit cake her mother bought her from the market. Donna was more than thankful she didn't have to eat it. It looked hard as a rock and the texture was that of rough rubber. The alien didn't seem to mind though. 

"Thank you." She said again in her wonderful voice, as she took the last bite. 

"What are you?" Donna asked without thinking twice. As she thought the third time, she realised how rude she must've been. "I mean, if you're alright with answering that."

The alien smiled. "I am of the Elvad people." 

Donna blinked. 

"My name is Phik." 

"Phik." Donna repeated it to herself as to not forget. She was terrible with names. "What brings you here Phik.

"My ship crashed. I've been stranded here ever since." The alien replied nonchalantly. 

"And that?" Donna inquired, pointing at the highly sophisticated handcuffs clasped around both the alien's wrist. "Just popped in over on Earth with alien handcuffs."

"To me, you are the alien." The figure replied. Donna didn't laugh. "I was a prisoner. My people are sold as workers to the Ukmisa, a powerful race in my quadrant." 

"What, they have slaves where you're from?" 

"You don't? I see people like you, in your small concrete buildings looking lifeless. You do that willingly?"

Donna smiled at the innocence of the question. "Not willingly," She started to say. "It's for money."

"Hey," She said after a moment's silence. "I have more food. I mean, I can bring more food. Where do you stay."

Phik's eyes darted to the brick wall and then slowly made made their way down to the manhole, cover upturned next to it. 

"You've got to be kidding me."

* * *

This had become a ritual, one that Donna did not mind having. It beat the usual daily droning of office life and brain-haemorrhaging inducing talks of 'life advice' from Linda. Phik was also a great listener. 

Donna made her way down the ladder that led to two interconnecting sewer tunnels. Each step on the rusty, metallic rung of the ladder felt like a rebellious push against the normalities of life. It filled her with a sense of direction. It was what she felt when she was with The Doctor. She craved for the same sensation. The thrill; the adventure; the sights and sounds of an empty vacuum that could burst into life of various kinds. Donna noted how small minded she was before she met him.

Reaching the end of the ladder, the red-head hopped of the final step and with ease, twisted her body to position herself for the next jump before leaping forward slightly to avoid the loose tile she has tripped on many times before. 

“Phik?” She cried out. The blue alien emerged from behind a rock, walking slowly towards her. 

“I thought you weren’t coming today.” Phik said as she clumsily grabbed at the styrofoam takeout container. Donna had grown accustomed to the handcuffs impeding on Phik’s weekend consuming of food and had gotten her sandwiches. Phik never complained.

“And when have I missed.” She said triumphantly as she placed a thin handkerchief and sat on its soft cloth. It belonged to her grandfather and not it meant more to her than it could ever have before.

“You were late. I thought you grew tired of me.” A huge bite of her egg and mayo sandwich

“Oi, what do you take me for?” Donna stopped herself midway. “Actually don’t answer that.” 

“You think of yourself so little. Why?” A question Donna could not possibly begin answer. It was also a question she was struggling with all this time.

“That’s how it is, innit? You live your life trying to be something more than you are and then you just die.” She tried explaining.

The alien frowned. “That’s a depressing outlook on life. Are all humans like this?” 

Donna found that an even harder question to answer. “Well, that’s just it, innit. Not one person is the same.” 

“So you don’t have to be that person.” 

Donna smiled. “No, I don’t.” 

* * *

Three months passed since Donna found Phik in the alleyway. Down in the sewers, it had become common for her to visit Phik during the wee hours of the night. Donna had passed it on as a night out in town with the girls. Not that she had many girls she’d want to hang out with after work. Although, now she did have one. That woman was Phik.

“Thought I’d popped down for a visit.” Donna chirped as she came down the ladder. She was getting good at this, the same movements to avoid slipping on the tile akin to that of an intricate ballet dance routine. Twisting and turning at exactly the right spots like she’s done this a hundred times before. At this moment, she had. 

“Do you have more of those egg sandwiches.” Phik asked as she fumbled with the hand restraints.

Donna grinned and whipped out a brown paper bag and started to remove the clear sellotape in order to unroll the top portion of the bad. Wilfred had started to ask her why her diet started to consist of sardine puffs and egg and mayo sandwiches. She smiled at that recollection.

“I do indeed.”

“Brilliant.” Donna placed the bag in Phik’s blue hands, careful to ensure that she could actually take it from her. 

“Don’t you want me to remove that for you. Those things don’t look comfortable.” She received a rather pious expression from alien, a pained exasperation. 

“It’s beyond your intellect.” She said matter of factly. 

“Oi, alright now, cool your beans. It was a genuine question.” 

“I meant no disrespect. The technology for these restraints are beyond your people’s scope of understanding.” Phik explained.

“So what you’re telling me is-“

“Your intentions are good and noted, Donna Noble, but they are a futile offer.”

“Way to spoil a girl’s night.” 

“Is that-“ Phik stuttered. “Is that a good thing or a bad thing.”

“It’s a joke.”

“Human humour. It’s so-“

“Alien?.”

“Yes.” 

“I wish I could get you out of those. It’s not right.”

Phik gave her a sad smile. One she hadn’t seen for a long time. When was the last time she saw the same expression her new friend was making? She swore she knew what it meant but the implication of the expression was currently lost on her.

“Donna Noble. Promise me.” Phik started.

“Promise you what?”

“Promise me you will follow your own path.”

* * *

It all happened in a blur really. The same downward descent, the same leftover egg sandwich in a brown paper bag with the same clear sellotape keeping the contents of grain and wheat inside. The same twist of the body to avoid the broken tile. But without the familiar sight. Phik was gone. The sewers were empty.

“Phik?” Donna yelled out, not expecting a reply in return. She’s done it. She’s escaped. The red-head quickly inspected the ground, looking for any sign the alien might be given her before departing the underground piping systems.

On the ground, next to the same rock they’d sit around and talk until the sun rises and her mobile would ring from a worried grandfather wondering why his granddaughter was gone for so long, lay a pair of striking, ocean blue hand restraints. 

At first, a feeling of sadness overwhelmed her. This was the closest friend Donna had made ever since her adventure with The Doctor. Then it was replaced with that of gladness. She knew what Phik meant now when she said she had to follow her own path. She was mad to decline The Doctor’s offer. She knew what she had to do. 

She was going to quit her job at the boring, old insurance company. She was going to say her last hello to Linda Jones, file her last paper and quit her job. 

Donna Noble was going to investigate conspiracies. She’d find The Doctor. Weird things follow him. And soon, she’ll find him again. One day.

She hoped Phik managed to find a life, free somewhere. 


	4. Reassurance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The 13th Doctor and Graham share a heart to heart after she previously could not find the words to express how she really felt at the moment.

It had been exactly one hour, twenty-five minutes and forty-four seconds since Graham opened up to The Doctor. He eyed her, toying with the intricate knobs and levers on the Tardis console. 

He wasn’t expecting much, just a reassuring word or two from the woman he’d entrusted his life to but it didn’t take him by surprise either that she didn’t quite exactly know what to say. He noticed how socially awkward the alien could be. Alien. Graham shook his head. Sometimes the old bloke forgot she was an alien. 

To his left, his step-grandson and Yasmin Khan were talking among themselves. A quiet sort of whisper that threatened to deafen the silence now apparent in main hub of the time machine. It seemed like a rather serious discussion. Ryan looked preoccupied, minding his words more than usual. Yasmin was being the placater here. 

An audible sigh escaped The Doctor’s lips, pulling Graham back from his usual daydreams in the late afternoons. Is it even afternoon anymore? It was hard to tell when the my could travel through time in a moment’s notice. 

He saw the blonde give a sideway glance at him, panicked when he met her line of sight, and quickly darted to the doors of the Tardis. At the exact moment she reached the familiar doors, the Tardis stopped in its tracks. He could tell from the iconic sound being silenced. It was as though she planned it. Graham scoffed to himself. Of course she planned it. It’s The Doctor.

“Are you going to join me then?” She said exasperatedly, eyeing Graham more than the rest of the fam. 

Graham pointed at himself with a confused expression. “Me?” 

“No, I meant someone else when I looked at you.” Graham looked even more confused, completely missing her pointed sarcasm. “Yes, you. C’mon!” 

Outside the Tardis was a beautiful garden, filled with a bed of roses, sanguine in colour. A cool breeze whiffed by both of them and ruffled their hair. Graham could retire and set roots here. 

He felt this inner peace he had not felt in the longest time. Nothing The Doctor squinting her eyes as she often did when she was thinking her way out of a situation, Graham awaited her to burst out in fiery dialogue on the background of their new location. Instead, she spoke so that it was only audible to the two of them. Graham hadn’t noticed that Ryan and Yasmin had just joined them. 

“I told you I was still quite socially awkward. It’s a curse, really.” The Doctor begin, referencing their short exchange earlier. The elderly man had opened up to her about his fears of cancer resurfacing but she couldn’t find an answer. 

“It’s fine, Doc. Just needed someone to listen, is all.” He said but The Doctor shook her head.

“No, you opened up and I clammed up. I needed a minute to clear my head and think of a response that was helpful.” 

“Well, it’s been longer than a minute now, hadn’t it.” 

“Oi! Yeah, well-“ The Doctor breathed in through gritted teeth as she looked apologetic. “Sorry about that.” 

“Did you?”

“Did I what?”

“Find something helpful to say to me.” Graham smiled, not expecting an answer. The Doctor simply nodded. 

“I realise, I haven’t been open. To all three of you. I find it harder now than I ever did before to be open. About myself. About how I feel or how I think. I run away at the nearest sight of confrontation.” She explained. 

She recalled the many times she had the answer to everything. The Battle at Demon’s Run came to mind and her revelation of River Song being Amy and Rory’s daughter. Another time, when she figured out that the ghosts appearing in London were not those of the dearly departed but those of Cybermen. 

However, she was being unfair to herself. The Doctor realised that these were traits of her previous incarnations. This was her and she still exhibited those strands of personalities but she was an entirely new person. She had to acknowledged the person she was now. It wasn’t an easy task.

“The truth is, Graham, I don’t have an answer still.” Graham nodded. 

“I gathered that, Doc. You’ve brought me here now, haven’t you. Didn’t know what to do so you dropped us off somewhere nice for a change.” 

“The fears your have, Graham. It’s okay to have them.” 

“I know that Doc-“ 

The Doctor raised a finger. It was the tentative finger. The finger that denoted there was more to it than she was saying.

“It’s okay to have these fears. It’s alright that you still feel them when you’re okay. It’s okay not to be okay. It’s also okay to be okay.” 

“That’s a lot of okays.” 

“I wish I could take away the fear and tell you it’ll never come to pass again. But that’s life. Nothing’s certain. But there’s something certain. You’ll always have a place on The Tardis. And you’ll always have a place with me. With us. Cause’ we’re a fam. We stick together us lot.” The Doctor awkwardly hugged him.

“Oh.” He stuttered, startled. “Thanks Doc.” 

It caught them both by surprise when Ryan snuck up on them. 

“Hey now, what’s this then.” He said as he tapped Graham’s shoulder. “A conversation we should be part of?” Ryan asked as he pointed to Yasmin, now in front of them taking pictures of the delightful roses. 

“No, we were just talking.” 

“Alright.” Ryan smiled. He was practically grinning. “Here, a snack you might like.”

Graham looked down to inspect the snack Ryan held in his hand. He scoffed and smirked at his step-grandson. 

“Haha, very funny.” He reached down to grab one. A Graham Cracker.

The Doctor could stay like this forever. The wonderful breeze; the lack of danger. The fam had no fear, no worries. They were together enjoying the peaceful nature of calm and quaint scenery. But she knew that wouldn’t last. 

For now, she let herself loose in the moment. 


	5. Tandem Upheaval

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Tenth Doctor reels from the lost of Donna Noble as well as the rest of his faithful companions. But a new mystery begins as The Doctor finds blood on the new planet he landed on.

The Doctor didn’t know what to do at that very moment. All his companions were gone. All the people he trusted, were gone. He remembered how he had to say goodbye to them, all seven of them. Donna’s goodbye, was one of the hardest farewells he ever had the nasty pleasure of wishing. One of which, he wished he’d never have to do again. However, the goodbye that hurt him the most, was none other than Rose Tyler’s. Not only did he feel the twist in both his hearts when he had to leave her there in the parallel dimension, it hurt him most to see the Meta-Crisis Doctor with her. He didn’t have a choice, not even if he wanted to could he stay. The children of time the Daleks had called them. He smiled as he repeated it in his head like a soothing mantra as he walked over to the TARDIS console that was decorated with the oddest levels and the most abnormal panels.

Not wanting to mope around and feel sorry for himself like he always did, The Tenth Doctor pulled the lever and keyed in a random series of numbers. Coordinates, to an adventure where he could lose his mind in. Anything, would be better than remembering them at the moment. What planet would it be this time? The planet, Makuyu perhaps! A hot and humid world littered with many rivers and swamps with the largest spaceport outside the Sol System, would do him good. Sweat all his fears away and dampen the dark thoughts that crept into his mind. No, it wouldn’t do. He tried again, this time keying in the series of numbers more rapidly and much more randomly. 

The familiar sound of the TARDIS blaring as it materialised to its next location filled the time lord’s ears like music. Pulling the TARDIS screen scanner closer, The Doctor inspected the environment outside his blue box, immediately greeted with the sight of a meadow, a hill, and flowers that decorated the green grass with its bright, vibrant colours as he did. Most, would’ve found the sight a beauty to behold, but The Doctor only thought of one thing. Boring! Simply, and utterly boring! No this wouldn’t do, he needed something exciting. Something dangerous. However, as he recalled the adventures he had before he said his goodbyes, perhaps, some serenity would do him good. Calm his nerves down, before they exploded and he’d need to regenerate. He hoped he’ll be ginger if he did this time.

Walking towards the doors that led outside, The Doctor paused momentarily. This would the first time, since forever, he’d travel alone after so long. After, having such great companions. He closed his eyes, not wanting to think about them. Outside, The Doctor inhaled the fresh air through his nostrils, and let the greenery fill his lungs. Relaxing, only for just a moment, he took in the sights. There were trees everywhere, wherever he turned there were trees. However, something wasn’t right when he looked at one of the flowers that were by his feet. Its petals were of an odd colour.

Crouching down, and with one fluid motion, The Doctor produced the Sonic Screwdriver from his trench coat and scanned the petals, hoping that the red which covered the pink was perhaps nothing more complicated than pigmentation. The results he received didn’t do much to calm his nerves. He supposed adventure followed him wherever he went. It was blood, and it wasn’t human. 


	6. The Many Meetings at Coal Hill: Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> River Song is called by The 12th Doctor to aid him at Coal Hill Highschool but she meets a friend of his instead. Soon, things get out of hand when Team Tardis investigates the same case.

River Song smirked as she inspected her sonic screwdriver. The Doctor had given it to her after the many nights spent at the Singing Towers of Darillium. It was their last date and she was almost certain she would not see him again. At least, not the version that knew her, of course. River was always privy of the fate that would befall her. One day, the man she loved would not recognise her. It pained her to think about it.

It was dark on the roof. The Doctor told her to meet him before classes commenced and she learned from experienced that inquiring why was a fool's errand. The Doctor enjoyed being mysterious, perhaps, in his own little twisted game of competition with River herself. The pair were always on to one another and this made it seem just like any other time. Still a question persisted. Why meet at a high school of all places?

As she made her way down the fire escape, River Song expected to come face to face with The Doctor. Instead a rather petite yet athletic looking bob-haired blonde with forehead bangs nearly covering her eyes was staring back at her instead.

"Sweetie?" River asked, sarcastically, lips curved upwards.

"Not quite. Come in." The mysterious woman replied as she pulled River in by the collar and shut the window behind her as though it was practiced a hundred times before. 

River gathered herself before asking the question that was on her mind. "You're not The Doctor." 

"Yes, clearly. Your powers of observation are unrivalled." The blonde spat back. Oh, River was going to like her. 

"You're not from round' here then? Can't be if you knew to mask your signal as though it was The Tardis." River asked as she looked out the window down to the empty street below. Still early. No one was around to witness the commotion. Good.

"I'm an associate of The Doctor. That's all you need to know." She was coy. Deliberately so. River did not like that one bit. In fact she could see the twinkle in her eyes; the satisfaction the mysterious woman must've felt to have someone not know who she is. 

"Associate?" River asked curious. The, another more cynical thought came to mind. "And where does this associate's loyalty lies?" 

"On the right side of the bed. Relax. I'm not out to kill your Husband. He told me to call you." River relaxed, only slightly. She didn't trust the stranger entirely, but to have access to this information must warrant some sort of trust from her beloved Doctor. She let it slide. For now.

"Fine, then. What do I call you? The Insufferable Mop?" She motioned her head towards the woman's hair.

"Quill. Andrea Quill." She replied with a tut. "Now, can we get on to the reason I called you here?”

* * *

"He saw himself in you. The Doctor does that." River said as she took a sip of the coffee that Andrea had prepared for them. She found it rather strange that there were jars upon jars of grounded coffee.

Andrea had grown quite accustomed to her human life, enjoying the little things Humans took for granted. One of said things was coffee. She simply adored the stuff. 

"Oh, please don't say that. He's insufferable."

"I didn't say he wasn't." River smiled. "So you have an alien problem." Another sip of coffee.

"Some time travelling werewolf from New Vegas. Hopped on through a crack in time when he was in custody, and came back to terrorise England's underground scene. He has eyes on the pretty little twerp I've been trying to protect." Andrea explained. She sighed as she took in the pleasure of the scent of caffeine wafting throughout her apartment, wishing she took the advice of her overweight colleague to go away somewhere for the weekend. 

"And here I thought it couldn't get weirder with The Doctor. Statues that displaces you through time if they touch you, eyestalk blasters and the works." 

"Don't remind me of the Weeping Angels. I never want to see a bloody statue ever again." 

"So-" Andrea started as she placed her cup down. River noted the serious expression that soon followed after. "We have a werewolf to catch."

"My, my. An American Werewolf in London."

* * *

Charlie Smith stood outside the building that led to Andrea's apartment. He hated how he'd become so dependant on the last of the Quill. However, he would be lying if he said she hadn't saved his life more times than one.

She had a choice after removing the Arn from her brain. She made the decision herself to save him from The Cabinet of Souls. But this was a personal matter. Wasn't it? Although, a giant wolf stalking the grounds of their high school while they had detention was another matter. He'd probably lead in with the latter.

Three knocks was all it took to stir Quill from her sofa and to the door.

The door opened inward revealing Quill and an unidentified guest. A woman currently inspecting a sonic blaster. 

"What is it?" Andrea snapped as Charlie prepared to answer. Unfortunately, he didn't get very far. 

"Wait don't answer that. Is this about an alien invasion or teenage angst? I have no time for hormonal teenage boys." 

Charlie sighed. 

"Both?" 

Andrea returned a deadpanned expression. She turned to look River in the eyes and then back to Charlie. "Fine you have 20 minutes tops." 

* * *

Coal Hill Highschool was peaceful early in the morning. Morning dew dripped off the green leaves in potted plants by the school's entrance. 

That quaint peacefulness was soon broken by a very strong pair of pliers, easily breaking the lock that prevented others from entering the school during non-schooling hours. This has been done many a times, River noted. It came like second nature to The Doctor's acquaintances.

Passing by the Coal Hill School Roll of Honours board, River inspected the names on the list. Oswald. C. She recognised her name from the stories The Doctor had told her during their night on Darillium. She also noticed Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright. She recognised their names from their previous encounter in 1963. River smiled to herself remembering her visit to every incarnation of The Doctor one night while slightly drunk. 

"So, instead of coming straight to me and telling me about the Werewolf, you went home and snogged lover boy?" Andrea asked in disbelief as they broke into Classroom 5-C. The same classroom he had his detention in.

Charlie scoffed. "I thought it was a wolf. I didn't think it was an actual werewolf like they have in those Human movies. I can't believe they're real. Also, Matteusz is safe at home, thank you.' He finished.

"Right, maybe take that pole out your ass. Figuratively and literally." Charlie rolled his eyes.

"We're here. You sure you saw the Werewolf here?" River was now on her knees, pointing the sonic screwdriver at the lock. She was having difficulties getting the door to open. She blamed the rusted keyspace. River remembered the many times she escaped Stormcage Containment Facility. A simple classroom lock wouldn't keep this Impossible Astronaut out. It would have been a disgrace if it did.

 _Click_. The sound of the locking mechanism instantly clicking in place. It was open.

"Get back." Andrea instructed both of her companions. Her leg came forward first, knocking the door down with one sure and aggressive kick. With a thud, the wooden doors opened in revealing a distraught girl in what seemed like blood. It was Tanya.

"Tanya?" Andrea asked as she stooped down to investigate the blood on her student. "What are you doing here. Is this blood yours?"

"No. I- It took him."

"Took who?" Charlie asked, now making sure there were no wounds on her. 

River made her way to the glass windows, trying to find at least a sliver of a silhouette amongst the dancing shadows in the dark of the morning. Instead, all she found were bushes, trees and the sight of a school bus pulling up the driveway. River checked her watch, she had adjusted it to local time. 7:05 a.m. They were too late, school was in session.

* * *

"Who was she?" Andrea asked in River's place. The two shared the same question. Charlie looked offended that they cared less that Ram was taken too. 

"She showed up, saved Ram and I from the werewolf. We hid in the classroom, barred the door with desks and chairs, and the next thing I know is blood, a scream, and Ram and this strange woman disappearing. 

"Strange woman? How so, strange?" River asked. She hoped it wasn't who she thought she was thinking of. Missy being here would not be a good sign. 

"Well, she was rather...odd." Tanya started. Charlie came into the room and handed her a glass of hot water. Tanya thanked him before continuing. "She kind of looked like Miss Quill, right, but...odder." 

"Odder than an alien, last of her race enslaved to protect me, another alien while I pose as a six former?" Charlie laughed. He stopped when Quill gave him a most sinister side-eye. He only saw her gave that look once and that was when she saved him.

"Odder." 

"This doesn't make matters easier now does it." River said as she got up. "There's even a full moon out tonight."

"Was April with you?" Charlie asked, hoping for a confirmation.

"No." Tanya dashed his hopes of reconciling with her.

Andrea nodded as she stashed the sonic blaster she was holding in a holster by her left leg. She hid it with a trench coat. "Until then, blend in." She looked at River now. "That means you too. How do you feel about a day in school?"

* * *

Shoving a piece of psychic paper in someone's face was as satisfying as it had always been. This time, however, it was even more so. 

The principal was a short and stout man. He was also incredibly infuriating and sexist as he were. It was a sight for the ages to see him buckle in his seat when he stuttered, clearly more embarrassed and afraid in his life. 

"Inspector General?" River smiled, trying to keep the disguise of her newly appointed shroud on and fastened. 

"Yes, indeed." She said as she placed the psychic paper back into her pocket. "We've received...reports of students engaging in recreational napping in the back garden and in the classrooms during detention." That sparked a fire within the principal.

"I knew it. I knew that the other one was lying to me-" River cut him off. 

"The other one?" She asked, intrigued.

"Of course, another detective. Must be under your care. You had better keep reign over your own staff, Mrs.?"

River sighed not being able to come up with a better name. "Robinson." She cussed The Doctor for giving her that nickname. 

"You see we had an earlier report this afternoon, a Jane Smith, detective, came in to investigate the matter too. But she told me it was a routine check for drugs."

"Drugs?" River was amused by the direct answer. Who else was here to investigate this matter, and who else would know about the werewolf? It couldn't be The Doctor, he had given her to Andrea instead.

"Yes, she's down there. Right now." The Principal pointed down from his window overseeing the common sitting area. There, a petite and skittish blonde woman in a trench coat was looking at flowers with a magnifying glass. With her, an older gentleman eating a sandwich. 

River was perplexed.

* * *

"Why don't you use your sonic, Doc?" Graham asked, in between bites of his now usual sardine sandwich. Ryan had tried to dissuade his step-grandfather from bringing it along like last time, but he insisted it would help him assist The Doctor in investigating the werewolf. The Doctor now wished she took Yasmin instead.

"I'm getting too dependant on it." Graham knew The Doctor was being stubborn. He watched the Time Lady crouch down, trying to discern the spray of what seemed to be alien blood resting on the fragile petals of the roses. 

It just had to be roses, didn't it? 

"You've never said that, before. If you whipped it out, we could finish with this and snip back to The Tardis for tea." 

The Doctor gave him an exasperated sigh. "Oi, you can't rush brilliance! These things take time. And the memory's still a bit fuzzy. It's been ages since I last faced down Cyrus Wolfsbane. Was with a different fam too. I don't think I called them fam yet. You're my first fam, fam." The Doctor babbled.

Graham was used to the frequent babbling of their alien host. It wasn't uncommon to sit through a five minute session where The Doctor listed her past exploits. It only became common knowledge amongst Team Tardis that she wasn't joking when she acknowledged her past incarnations. Graham grew weary of being mistaken as The Doctor as well. It has happened more than once now. Even more so, it was tiring to keep up the charade in order to preserve historical accuracy or the very nature of the universe.

“Aha! I knew it!” The Doctor exclaimed, breaking Graham’s reverie. “This isn’t any normal blood at all. It’s alien. And it belongs to suspect primary-“ The Time Lady stopped celebrating right in her tracks when she noticed a familiar face making her way toward them.

The Doctor quickly dove behind the bush and dragged Graham down along with her. She did it in such a hurry, he had little to no time to complain. The Doctor also placed her hand on her companion’s mouth.

“I knew something like this would happen. I told myself; the universe is vast and infinite and I wouldn’t come into contact with her again, but of course I did. I should’ve known this, of course. Time works in such a way. Always tripping you up when you think you know what’s up.”

“I can hear you.” The voice made The Doctor yelp in surprise. 

With a spring, The Doctor emerged from the bushes, launching into a pose. Her attempt at being inconspicuous did not work. At all.

“Right, fine day we’re having aren’t we. Just fancied a roll in the bushes. A fine day for rolling about, don’t you think?” River did not look amuse.

“Mind telling me why you’re hiding right behind evidence of werewolf blood. Or that you used psychic paper on the principal?” River had The Doctor under the microscope. Only, she didn’t know it was her husband -or now wife, she was grilling for information. The Doctor didn’t want this particular piece of tantalising information to escape her grasp either.

“Oh, she’s good.” Graham said as he got up. “What you going to do, D-“ She hushed him before he could finish his sentence. 

“We’ll just be off.” The Doctor grabbed Graham’s hand and led them away from where they were standing.

“Oh, I don’t think so.” River said to herself as she hurried after them. 

* * *

“Doc, who is she? Why are we running? And I’m about to pass out from all this running.” She noticed River chasing them and couldn’t avoid her enough to not lead her to The Tardis. 

“She’s the old missus. And she can’t know that I used to be her husband.” The Doctor explained and she sonic the lock of the doors. “This will deter her for just a moment. Enough to explain the plan.” 

“Doc-“

“No time. Let me speak.”

Graham’s eyes widened in surprise and also in amusement.

“We tied the knot when I was into fezzes and I did not have ginger hair. Then we met again when I was a white-haired Scotsman. With thick eyebrows.” The Doctor pinched her index finger and thumb together, mimicking the shape of eyebrows on her forehead. “I’ve never met her as a woman. And due to the fragile nature of time itself,” Graham mentally pumped a fist in the air for getting the cliched line from The Doctor. “She needs to believe that the very last time she saw me was when we spent a night in Darillium together which was actually 24 years, and I gave her a sonic screwdriver and never saw me again.” 

“That’s a lot to remember, Doc.”

“Try your best. And stop calling me Doc.” 

* * *

River wasted no time to barge her way into The Tardis despite the many and rigorous attempts to dissuade her by both The Doctor and Graham. In fact, she was surprised to see that The Doctor had redecorated since she’s last been on.

“Oh, I hate what he’s done with the place.” River exclaimed as she observed the new metallic chic of the interior. “Also, there’s four of you?” She asked, in relation to the many companions currently in The Tardis.

“Who’s this?” Ryan asked, perplexed. Yasmin caught Graham’s side eye and kicked the side of Ryan’s leg. 

“A friend of The Doctor’s.” River replied. 

“Yes, and he’s snipped off. Probably went out for a spin. Investigating the werewolf and all that.” The Doctor stared at him. “At least, that’s what he told us.” 

“Right, he’s not around right now.” Yasmin piped in now. Playing the game. “Isn’t that right, Ryan?” 

“Oh, yes. Went off, didn’t tell us what he was doing.” He said, alluding to his own Doctor.

“That sounds like him. Well now, he won’t mind me stealing The Tardis.” 

“Steal the what, now?” The Doctor couldn’t believe it. She couldn’t believe this happening to her again. Twice. By the same person no less. The world had a cruel streak in it.

“Don’t you think he’ll mind?” The Doctor asked. 

“I’ve done it many times before.” River smiled. “Deja Vu.” 

How did The Doctor ever manage to keep up with this wonderful woman?

* * *

“So where exactly are we going?” Yasmin asked, alarmed. She thought she’d never see the day when another person would be able to keep up with The Doctor. But here she was. Piloting the time machine even. Yasmin was in awe.

“On a joy ride with one pit stop.” River explained. “How does everyone fancy facing down a werewolf who escaped from the future through a crack in time?” No one batted an eye. She should’ve guessed. The Doctor’s companions wouldn’t be fazed by the weird and supernatural. Only the mundane. Instead all locked eyes with her, expecting her to finish her query.

“Tough crowd.” River flipped the blue switches and pulled down on the lever at the Tardis’s console. “Right, I parked us right outside a...” River wondered if she should use the word. She decided it was of no harm as The Doctor’s companions should be reliable enough. “Friend’s apartment. Don’t worry she knows The Doctor too. Saved her life and all that as he usually does.”

“Wait, we’ve parked?” Yasmin asked, confused.

“Yeah, she’s right. There wasn’t any sound.” Ryan agreed.

“That’s because I flipped the blue stabilisers.” The Doctor cringed. Her socially awkwardness that plagued this incarnation of hers was about to explode into a fiery burst of embarrassment.

“The blue, what?” Graham looked at The Doctor, midst laughter. “You mean it’s _it’s_ not supposed to make a noise when it lands? That grating, loud noise.” 

“He doesn’t know how to drive it.” River smirked.

“Oi!” The Doctor began. But she knew she couldn’t defend herself unless she wanted her identity to be known. “I quite like the noise. It gives it character.” 

River chuckled. Grinning widely, she pointed a finger at The Doctor, motioning it as she referred to her. “That’s exactly what he’d say.” 

The Doctor groaned. Yasmin smiles. Ryan was completely and overwhelmingly confused. Graham was enjoying himself too much that he actually forgot they were keeping her identity a secret for a moment. 

“A friend?” The Doctor tried to ask without pulling too much attention to herself. 

“Yes, a high-school teacher at Coal Hill High-school.” 

The Doctor looked visibly shocked. Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright? No, the last time she saw them was when she -or back then, he, saved them when Cybermen attacked their ranch. She promised to keep their location a secret. And did she mix up the time period again? Was a live and breathing Clara Oswald waiting for them behind these walls?

“Alright now. C’mon. We’ve a werewolf to catch.” 

As Team Tardis plus one exited the Tardis doors, The Doctor knew who exactly it was.

Andrea Quill and Charlie Smith. There they were, sitting on the couch in her apartment sipping hot coffee from small mugs. Tanya, asleep from the night before.

Andrea took one look at The Doctor and her companions. She then glanced towards the Tardis’s exterior. “Oh, yes an issue that can’t be solved without consulting The Doctor. Where is he then?” 

River shook her head. 

“Then, who the hell is she?” 

The Doctor only realised later that Andrea meant her. Ryan has to elbow her in the shoulder.

“I’m The Doctor-“ She said before fixing her mistake. “Tor’s companion, hello!” 

“Great. The Doctor’s Companions and The Doctor’s Wife. Should I get the red carpet out?” 

Yasmin and Ryan looked at Graham. Graham then looked to The Doctor. The Doctor tried to look elsewhere but cussed inward when she realised there was no one else to look to. 

“The Doctor’s Wife?” Ryan and Yasmin exclaimed in unison.


	7. Last Moments of A Lonely Star

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The 11th Doctor, Amy and Rory are on their way for a picnic by the Nile River but stop by a Red Dwarf Planet to witness its impending death. Then, a distress signal from the surface of the planet pings The Tardis.

The Doctor, with a sly expression on his face, pulled the lever on The Tardis's console. Spinning in place, he came face to face with his companions-in-laws. Both Amy and Rory stood several feet away from him, oblivious to the grin that was forming whenever The Doctor had a plan that he intended as a surprise. 

On the monitor in front of The Ponds, were three blips. This denoted that the three of them were the only living life forms in this quadrant of space. 

"Right, here we are! Sector Delta-Gamma slash twenty-five stroke three and one quarter. Right, in time to witness the implosion of a Red Dwarf Planet." Rory, with a confused look, side-eyed Amy who was smiling back at The Doctor. He knew his wife well enough that she didn't understand what he was saying either. It was more of a pleasantry to let him ramble on. 

"Timed it just right, 24 Earth hours just as it is supposed to happen. A little boring really. We could have a little party? Or I could just zip us five minutes before-" 

"We're in no rush, right Rory?" Amy asked as she set the leather haversack down. They were going to go camping near the Nile River. The Doctor promised that after each subsequent life harrowing adventure, they would go on a regular adventure. Before this, they went on a picnic on the alps of Switzerland. 

"No, unless this turns out to be life-altering dangerous again." Rory said sarcastically. All three of them laugh but they knew danger followed The Oncoming Storm wherever he went. It was always a plausibility. 

"Right, then! A party to witness the collapse of a lonely star." The Doctor clapped his hands and with that, he was off.

"That's morbid." Rory remarked, as both husband and wife stalked off to the staircase and planted themselves firmly onto it. 

* * *

Three glasses of champagne later, Amy was surprised that she could never ever get The Doctor drunk. He was over 900 years old, surely he would have embarrassing stories and secrets to tell. Rory, on the other hand, was enjoying himself. Running through derelict buildings and away from high ionic blasters were more than strenuous enough activities for even a weathered soldier. Still, he survived numerous deaths. He counted his stars lucky. A quiet night in The Tardis sightseeing would be a great opportunity to rest. Even, if the reason was as morbid as it was.

"I'm bored!" The Doctor exclaimed as he planted down another glass of champagne. "I need something to do. Mental stimulation. Danger, running, activity!" Rory simply sighed. Amy, laughed in return.

"We've gotten our cardio up, Doctor. A day with nothing to do is good for you."

"Oh, Humans. Lazy enough to not want to do anything. Then blame it on not being active enough-" The Doctor started. Rory rolled his eyes. Amy shook her head in return. "Here he goes." she said.

"Did Amelia Earhart laze around when she became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean?" The Doctor poised this as a question that needed answering. 

"No?" Rory obliged.

"No! And did Ferdinand Magellan, the first person to have circumnavigated the globe, laze around with nothing to do?"

"Uh," Amy, lost for words, tried to answer.

"Wait. No, that was Enrique de Malacca. Forget about that." The Doctor answered himself.

"Doctor, if you're really so bored of this, we could jump forward enough to watch the implosion and-"

As Rory tried to find an alternative to The Doctor's boredom, a loud beeping sound erupted through the interior of The Tardis. "Thank you, Universe!" And with that, The Doctor sprung up from where he was sitting, and now, a fervour in his step, leapt towards the main console of the Tardis and turned to face the monitor. A devilish grin filled his expression. Amy and Rory knew what this meant.

"And I thought we'd get to camp by The Nile." Rory said, under his breath. The Doctor ignored him. Amy gave him a tired smile.

"Mayday, mayday. If anyone can hear this. Please respond. This is an SOS. We are still on the planet. I repeat, we are still here." The voice said in a panic, they could hear the hurried nature of the mysterious person. 

Amy was surprised when The Doctor didn't answer. Rory looked at him in confusion. 

"Aren't you going to answer her?" Amy asked as she tapped The Doctor on the shoulder.

"I promised no dangerous adventure one after another." The Doctor looked like a scowling child. It was as though he was afraid of disappointing his two companions. Of course, that was what it was.

Amy looked at Rory and Rory looked back at Amy. They shared the same look. It was a look given to one another a hundred and one times. It was the look of acceptance of a crazy alien man with a heart of gold. It was the look of approval.

"We can't very well leave her to die can we?" Amy answered. Rory placed a reassuring hand on his wife's shoulder. 

"Amy Pond. The Ponds!"

"This is The Doctor speaking." He replied, finger pressed on the wide transmission communication array button. "How can I help?

* * *

"You want to do what?" Amy was now rather cross. She knew The Doctor was always up for the unimaginable. She knew that he had gone through turmoil after turmoil. In fact, all three of them have but this has got to be the most insane thing The Doctor must've attempted. And he was leaving them alone. On The Tardis. Just the two Humans, alone.

"If I beam myself down to the planet, I can save her and whoever else is still stuck down there." The Doctor aid adamantly. He was midway in fitting the orange suit he always wore when he went off world. 

"Doctor, the planet is about to implode on itself. We have less than an hour left. What if you don't make it back?" Amy asked, concerned. Her husband shared the same concern.

"She's right. And we don't even know how to pilot The Tardis. What if you need help and we're stuck inside here."

"A civilisation that could populate the surface of a Red Dwarf Planet would have to be able to withstand temperatures for up to 2000 kelvin. She assured us that they are trapped within a room that could withstand heat to three times that. They are explorers and scientists. We can't leave them to die, Also, when have I ever let you down?" The Doctor asked, expecting a triumphant reply. Instead, Amy scowled.

"More than once! So don't do it." 

"Yee, o' little faith. I'll be back in a jiffy. Won't even notice I'm gone." 

As Amy tried to protest yet again, a blinding blue light engulfed The Doctor. First, the light covered his legs, travelled up to his torso and soon enough small little squares dotted the features of his face. Soon, he disappeared. The Doctor had beamed onto the surface of a dying star.

* * *

The room was made up of a material The Doctor was unfamiliar with. He had only seen it once before, and being stuck in a burning fire to test a hypothesis for a raving mad Alien physician was a scenario he'd rather not relive. It was also barren with nothing but one sofa and three sleeping bags on the floor. That brought The Doctor to his next area of focus. The people.

There were only three people in the room. Two light-orange skinned women with appendages for hair. Standing beside them, another rotund alien man, his skin a darker orange. Perhaps it was the male of their species. But he highly doubted it. 

"I'm The Doctor and I'm here to save you." He grinned.

* * *

Back on The Tardis, Amy paced around the main doors. The console was adjusted before The Doctor went off on his kooky and unhinged adventure yet again. 

"I'm sure he's alright." Rory said. He stopped Amy in her tracks and offered her a glass of water from the kitchen. They had grown accustomed to the food materialiser on the ship. Fish and Chips for dinner was never easier while they were away. 

"I know, he should be. He always is." Amy tried pacifying herself. This wouldn't work. Making her way to the Tardis's main console, she pressed on the wide transmission communication array button. "Doctor, everything alright down there?"

A crackling sound erupted through the speakers, making both Amy and her husband cringe from the disruption. "Al-right ju- small- setback." The Doctor's voice came through with intermitted spots of non-audible interruptions. Amy could piece together the words she so often heard. 

"What small setback?" 

"Leks" The Doctor said.

"Leks?" Rory said, bewildered.

"Daleks." Amy thought of only the worst.

* * *

"Behind me, now!" The Doctor yelled as he pointed his trusty Sonic Screwdriver towards the entrance tube of the room. The three aliens made their way behind him as the rotund one grabbed a drill from the table.

"What are you going to do, build them a table?" One of the female said in disbelief. 

"It's better than just sitting here like a couple of Rylocs." He retorted. The Doctor recognised the creatures in mention. They were a useless species of animals near the Bessda Gamma quadrant. 

"Oi! Less talking, more running!" 

The Daleks had almost made it through their defences. Familiar sounds of eyestalk beams barraged the vulnerable maintenance doors that led to the room. It was now only a matter of seconds before the exterminators descended upon them. There was only one thing left to do.

* * *

"Am- ry- you have to activate -pur -tton." The voice spoke again. Rory recognised the highly energetic swat behind the console. It was The Doctor.

"The what?" Amy was unsure.

"I think he means for us to press a button on the Tardis console." 

The two companions were now above the main console, both looking down on the complicated and complex array of knobs, buttons, levers, pulleys and clasps. They had no idea which button The Doctor meant.

"Doctor, what button?" Amy asked, now pressing harder on the wide transmission communication array button. It was as though pressing harder meant an answer would magically pop into her head or the interference would magically clear up. It was wishful thinking. 

"Purple button!" It came back, clear enough to discern he meant a particular colour. 

Again, the two companions looked down at the complicated mess of a console. There were five buttons coloured purple. 

"Import- no- press- magenta."

"Which is magenta!" Amy, now stressed, exclaimed.

"Just press one of them!"

"And what explode the Tardis?"

The Doctor's voice boomed once again throughout the interior of The Tardis.

"Now!"

"Here goes!" Rory pressed the third button from the left. To him, it looked the most purple. They were all slightly off shade variations of one another.

The Tardis's distinctive sound whirred to life. They've done it! The Doctor had programmed The Tardis's location to match that of his Sonic Screwdriver in case of an emergency. They would swoop in, save him and whisk him and his guests away to safety. 

A momentary celebration was made short when Amy caught sight of the object that just materialised itself within The Tardis. Mouth agape, she elbowed Rory in the sides.

"Hey!"

"Look."

As clear as day, the similar shape of a blue box appeared in front of them. Another Tardis inside their own.

* * *

"How did you get me from my ship to yours?" The Doctor asked his new acquaintances as the Rotund Alien drilled the eyestalk of an unsuspecting Dalek clean off. It was a sonic drill and the waves produced were more than potent enough if aimed at vulnerable spots in their armour. 

"We used a transmat beam. Locked onto your location and whisked you away to us." He replied.

"Could you do the same to all of us?"

"We're not big enough to pinpoint! We didn't gave the budget to approve of more delicate instruments." His colleague answered from him.

A proverbial spark ignited itself in the Time Lord's head. If Amy was with him, she'd scowl at it. She would know the idea he had planned was off the rails, even for him.

"I have a plan."

* * *

"Why are we inside ourselves?" Rory said as he made his way to the replica of The Tardis. He knocked on the door and heard the sound reverberating throughout The Tardis. No, he heard it coming from just one direction. It was their own doors. It wasn't a replica of their Tardis. It was _their_ Tardis. 

"We are inside ourselves." Amy repeated.

The two looked at each other in disbelief. 

"You don't think that? If I?" Amy tested her hypothesis. She threw the doors open of The Replica Tardis and flung herself inside. She found herself inside The Tardis again but this time opposite of her husband, facing his back. She had entered through their Tardis's main doors. 

"But you? You just went in." Rory asked as he turned around.

"Put your hand through." Amy instructed her husband. 

He did just so, not wasting time arguing. As his hand entered, it emerged from the main doors of The Tardis as though it was dislodged from his body. A floating arm waving.

"We can't get out." Amy said, deadpanned.

"We're stuck here."

The same blue light engulfed the console of The Tardis. A split second later, The Doctor emerged from the light along with the three aliens he had saved. In front of them, three Daleks.

"Doctor!" Amy yelled as The Daleks positioned themselves to face the sudden new source of sound. Amidst open fire, Rory tackled his wife to the ground, trying to avoid the lasers that were now causing sparks to fly in critical and nasty directions. 

"Get down!" The Doctor instructed as he conducted the intricate symphony of precise movements to get everyone under his care behind cover.

Rory caught wind of The Doctor signalling for him to head down to the main engine area. He knew what this meant. The Doctor was telling him to head down to the thermal couplings. There was only two things Rory had ever done there. Remove a coupling and join them. He suspected The Doctor meant the latter. 

Leaving the safe confines of cover on the ground, Rory hastily made his way to the base of The Tardis, directly below the main console panels. With one fluid movement, Rory pulled out one of the couplings. This made The Tardis blare out in alarm with sirens filling in the now crowded confines. 

As one Dalek floated to the main console where Amy was hiding, the other two blasted away at The Doctor and the aliens. Rory managed to get up in time to pull Amy away from the main console. 

"Amy, Rory, stay where you are!" The Doctor ordered. As a panel blasted open and pieces of metal debris rained down above him, The Doctor leapt over the railings, up the stairs and jumped down to the main console. Pointing his Sonic Screwdriver at it, a countdown sounded. 

"Tardis implosion, t-minus 5 minutes."

"Implosion?!" Amy cried out in disbelief. 

"Trust him, he says. He's gone and blown up the bloody ship and with us inside!" Rory retorted.

"Doctor, tell me this is part of the plan." Amy said as another beam whisked pass her.

"Tardis implosion t-minus 3 minutes." The countdown chirped.

"It's part of a formulating plan!" He yelled as he jumped down, and returned to his initial spot. "Alvin, Simon and Theodore, with me, watch what I do." 

"I think he means us." The rotund one said.

The Doctor made his way around The Replica Tardis and then threw himself in. The rest made it through too. They came out on the opposite side. The Doctor signalled his companions to make their way down and after one near missed call with a flying panel, made it just in time. 

"Doctor what do we do?" Rory asked.

"Countdown t-minus 1 minute." The Doctor smiled.

"On my count, we run through those doors." He said as he pointed toward the entrance.

"Doctor?"

"5," The Doctor started counting as each second elapsed. "4," A Dalek laser darted by, missing them only by the hairs on their heads. "3," The Rotund Alien threw his drill in the air. In a blink of an eye, another second passed. "2," The drill exploded, the panels were ripped off their seams, and a Dalek exploded along with the equipment. "1." The Doctor grabbed Amy and Rory's hands, pulled on them, and lunged backwards. As they fell, he called out for the aliens to follow suit.

The sight was an incredible and stunning work of precision timing. Amy remembered it well, ingrained at the back of her head for adventures to come. Rory, eyes closed, did not see much. As they fell, a canvas of multiple layers of lights and colours filled their vision. 

At first, the bottom layer was engulfed in a fiery tornado of epic proportions. Then, the middle layer, midway through their fall, the remaining two Daleks exploding from the inside out in a blazing and excitable burst like a salvo from an artillery gun. A cracked dam that was ready to explode. Each individual egg of The Daleks burst out from their sockets into the air in a momentous pop. Finally, the top layer. The Tardis folded in on itself, collapsing down onto itself. The metallic surface of the ceiling looked as though it had folded in on itself like wrapping paper. 

_Snap_.

Everything was as it was. Or, everything was as it always should be, will be or would be. The Tardis was itself and itself alone. The Replica Tardis had disappeared. All six passengers fell on the floor with a thud. As they got up, there was no trace of The Daleks or broken machinery. The Tardis was pristine and spotless.

"But, we? What happened?" Amy asked, quick to get on her feet. The other three aliens were still on the ground as was her husband.

"Are we dead? Am I dead? Again?" Rory asked, eyes still closed.

"We're not dead!" The Doctor celebrated, jumping and pumping his fists in the air. 

"Mind explaining what happened?" Amy scolded, grabbing his fist as he pumped it another time.

"Right, The Daleks thought they cornered us but I'm smart. Oh, I'm smarter!" The Doctor begun his usual rant. He ran up the steps, the stairs now becoming his stage. "Their," The Doctor pointed at the trio of aliens, sitting on the Tardis's floors. He continued. "Transmat beam can't pick up individual people unless it locked on to something bigger so why not The Daleks themselves? They're big, round, egg like!" 

"Egglike?" Rory blurted out, rubbing his head where it hit the floor.

"Egglike! I tricked them and that go us on board. Then, Rory. Rory!" The Doctor was now as affable as a five year old child. He jumped off the steps and ran to his father-in-law. Then he planted a big kiss on him. Rory, shocked, arms flailing wasn't surprised but it took him by the storm.

"Please, stop doing that!"

"That was all you, Rory! Rory, Rory, Rory! Pulling off that thermal couplings. Beautiful! That set off a chain reaction that led to The Tardis resetting." The Doctor said, matter of factly.

"That still doesn't explain why The Tardis materialised within itself." Rory pointed out.

"Always, with the good questions! The exterior of The Tardis's shell drifted forward in time. Therefore, if you stepped into the box you step back into the control room a tiny, itsy, itty bit into the past." The Doctor now pulled a lever. "I set up a control template enclosure, the only way to reset The Tardis. It imploded."

"Where are we going now?" Amy asked, with 80% of the explanation flying by her head.

"Crosie Q9Y8. Planet of the Threls. Dropping our new friends off. Say hi."

They waved. Amy and Rory awkwardly waved back.

* * *

Crosie Q9Y8 was a charming and alluring planet. The skies were a poignant shade of magenta. The seas, a dark blue. The red checkered picnic blanket was covered entirely by food. Wine, meats and the assortment of grilled vegetables. It was Christmas after all. 

"It isn't exactly the Nile River, but what's better than a picnic by the sea of an alien planet?" Amy said, smiling. 

The three clinked their glasses together in cheers.


	8. Finding Rory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amy finds her way back to 1938 New York. She looks for Rory who was taken by the Weeping Angels back in time. 
> 
> First person narrative through Amy's eyes.

The moment passed by like a blur. Every fibre of my being told me to open my eyes. My blood boiled like a thousand suns, screaming for me to please just open my eyes. But I didn't. There was an odd gnawing at the back of my head; the voice I've heard many times before. It got me through tough times, more than once. It helped me through all those years waiting for my Raggedy-Man, all through the years of patience. It told me to find my husband.

A cool breeze brushed my hair, blowing frizzled strands onto my face. It didn't take a genius to figure out what that meant. I was in the past.

Opening my eyes slowly, as though in preparation for a Weeping Angel to be facing me somewhere, I took a deep breath. First, I saw the subtle fading of peeling cemetery stones. It was newer. Current. I was still in the cemetery. The sensation of leaving all I knew behind made me keel onto the ground, both hands planted firmly on the damp grass on a hot summer's day. It took a considerable amount of self-soothing and reminders of focussing to snap myself back to reality. I needed to find Rory.

My knees buckled under the weight of everything. The chance I took to make it back this way. Leaving my daughter behind whilst they were both still in danger. Leaving The Doctor. It pained me to think of it further. Mentally placing the scene in a box in my head, I tried not to think of it too much. Not until I found there person I took this chance to find. 

"Rory!" My voice came off more shrill and panicked than I intended. Steeling myself, I attempted to scream for him again. 

"Rory!" Now it was stronger. Thicker. A fiery rage of desperation and need. Of hope. 

My legs moved before I could command them to. Each stride a step closer to finding Rory. Making my way to the tombstone we had found ourselves at before the unthinkable happened, I stooped down low enough to make sense of it. It was as expected. Blank. A blank slate. Rory's not dead. At least he's not dead yet. That filled me with an immense impression of hope. A feeling much needed.

Rory wasn't here. There was no sign of him. No footsteps; no dropped jacket, not a hair of his body in sight. There had to be a way to find him. Taking the initiative to scan the area, a signpost in the middle of the road leading away from the cemetery caught my peripheral vision. Upper Manhattan.

* * *

The onlooking glances of the men and women of Old New York was starting to get on my nerves. I could hardly blame them if a woman from the 21st century, dressed up in clothing much too revealing for the conservative minds of this generation magically transported here by stone angel touch only to take a bus. 

The logical voice in my head pleaded for me to get on the bus and take it to the nearest town from the cemetery. It was a sound plan but an uneasy one. The need for period appropriate clothing was now apparent to me than all the other time travelling with The Doctor. The sudden memories of testing out the various period pieces with Rory came flooding back. A sharp pulling sensation gripped at my heart. It cringed onto my throat.

"What're you looking at? Never seen a girl take a bus before?" The words escape my lips before passing though a filter. The old man, hair greying and pipe dangling off his perched lips tutted at me and turned away. He pointed at my general direction, the woman sitting next to him, same age, shook her head in agreement. One more stare down, then both faced their backs on me. 

Getting off the bus, a small and quaint town greeted me. Way off any of the local landmarks you'd see in documentaries showing on the telly late night on Christmas Eve. A small pub looked to be the general watering hole. Around me, a group of young girls balked at my clothing. 

The Doctor always said the best way to truly find out how people acted was to mingle with them. I wished he was here to mingle with them for me.

As my hands turned the knob clockwise, the door creaked open, making me cringe in expectation of a pub filled with men of unsavoury nature to bring their attention to me. 

I was wrong. Inside, sat one lone man at the bar. Another table, filled with drunken men sleeping away the alcohol. The bartender gave me a funny look. He slapped the lone man on the shoulders who was currently drinking away from a tankard, his eyes looked like they've been through much. A sad look. I've seen it a hundred times before travelling with The Doctor on The Tardis. It was a look of a man who'd given up but still clung onto a momentary, sliver strand of hope just in case he'd see it again one day. 

He moved his head to meet my gaze. 

_Clang_. The tankard filled with liquid crashed onto the ground. The empty pub made the sound fill in all the empty spaces. The tired man smiled. Then he laughed. Then he cried. 

Then he made his way toward me.

It took me a moment to recognise him. River encouraged me to get here but The Doctor did insist that I had no way of confirming if I'd actually get myself back to the same time period Rory would be. I must have not. The eyes were the gateway into the soul. And this was mine into his.

"Rory?" Asking through gritted teeth as suppressed tears start to trickle down my cheeks, he let out a whine. Of hope being filled yet again after waiting for so long.

"Amy." He said, through breaking sputters of a tight throat.

"How did you find me? Is The Doctor here?" He asked, wiping away his tears on a handkerchief. He was dressed the part too. 

"No. I'm here. Alone." Rory had this way of looking at you. This glance as though he knew. As though he knew what you meant. It could pierce through even the toughest of skins. He knew what I meant. I wanted him to know. I wanted him to be clear of what this meant.

"I'm here for yo-" My face was buried deep into his chest as he pulled me in for a hug. 

He knew what it meant. 

"How long?" The question hurt me. He's waited long before but how long this time?

"Three years. But it's alright. You're here now."

He's right. I found him. And he found me.

That's all that matters.


End file.
